HINSDALE, Ill. – DePaul Prep scored the game’s opening bucket and never trailed while defeating Stevenson 49-36 to secure a spot in the semifinals of the 2017 Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic.

DePaul (11-1) scored the first four points of the contest and built a seven-point first quarter advantage. The Rams outscored Stevenson (7-5) 11-4 in the second quarter to take a 23-11 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Stevenson clawed its way back into the contest in the third. Down 13 points near the start of the quarter, the Patriots ripped off a 13-2 run sparked by 10 straight points from Jackson Qualley to cut the Rams’ lead down to just two points (28-26) with a minute to play in the third.

The Rams pushed their lead back to six points at the start of the fourth quarter and used a 9-2 run midway through the quarter to open up a 13-point cushion and pull away for the win.

Stevenson shot just 28.1 percent (9-of-32) from the floor and only 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from long distance. Qualley led the Patriots in the loss with a game-high 15 points while also collecting eight rebounds. Matthew Ambrose added eight points for Stevenson.

Stevenson will face the loser of the Maine South/St. Rita contest in the fifth-place bracket tomorrow at 3:45 p.m. DePaul will take on the winner of the Maine South/St. Rita game in tomorrow’s 7:00 p.m. semifinal.